Rear seat A/C?

[MisterMichigan]

I think I already know the answer, but.... from what I've seen on the Mazda website, the 5 has vents running through the center console to the rear seats area. From looking at the specs, it seems these vents are heat only, not A/C?

If true, I have wonder why in the world you would engineer it to route warm air but not cold? Seems to me the only difference is the source of the conditioned air, either the heater core or the a/c compressor.

So, 5 owners, does the A/C supply the rear vents?

 

[beldecca]

I thought (but certainly can be wrong) is that these vents only circulate the air that is in the cabin. They aren't actually "hooked-up" to either AC or heat (at lease directly). And it would be more work to run coolant lines or duct work to the middle cabin - part of what we sacrifice for a small, under $20k mini-minivan / wagon / what ever it is.

 

[ljmattox]

The back of the console indeed has vents (along with a switch for low or high fan assist) that circulate *cool* air to the back seat passengers.

There's a front console switch to enable / disable cool air flow to the back.

It is certainly cool / cold air, presumably a/c-cooled air at times (it hasn't been above 30F here since I got my 5, so I can attest to cold air...we'll see *how* cold later this summer). Warm air for the back seat(s) is provided via floor vents below driver and passenger seats.

The owner's manual says:

Only cool or cold air (no heat) blows through the rear vents while the front climate control is on. Heat for the rear passengers comes from under the front seats when the front heater is on and set to floor mode.